Hair waving clamp



Fel). 9, 1937. rB, A- STERLlNG 2,069,859

HAIR WAVING CLAMP Filed Oct. 19, 1934 Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITEDSTATES ATENT OFFICE;

11 Claims.

This invention relates to the waving of hair upon the human head, andmore particularly to a protector clamp for application to the hairduring the waving process.

The clamp of my present invention is especially adapted for use inco-nnection with Croquignole Waving, but it is to be understood that itmay be used elsewhere as suitable and desired.

It is old in the art to apply a protector clamp to a strand or bunch ofhair at the scalp and to wind the strand or bunch of hair in overlyinglayers from its outer end, whereupon a suitable solution and heat areapplied to cause the hair to take the desired set.

Heretofore, however, the matter of closing and locking the jaws of theclamp upon the hair has presented a rather diiicult problem.Particularly, if the strand or bunch of hair is relatively thick it willhold the jaws apart a very appreciable amount, making it necessary withprior devices for the operator to grasp the jaws of the clamp and forcethem together in order to engage the locking device, if, indeed, it ispossible to engage this device at all. The operator is usually a girl,with the result that it is frequently necessary to open the clamp andreduce the amount of hair therein in order to close and lock the same.Even where that is not necessary, the closing and locking of the devicehas been a difcult matter, requiring at least two distinct operations,which necessitates skill on the part of the operator and reduces thespeed of the waving process.

The object of the present invention is to provide simple andconveniently manipulated means for positively and quickly closing thejaws of the clamp and locking the same in closed position.

More specically,'the invention provides, in a hair waving clampcomprising a pair of jaw members pivoted together at one end, a leverpivoted to one of the jaw members at the other end, and a jaw closingand latch member pivoted to the lever and engageable with the other jawto close the jaws and lock the same in closed position. The jaw closingand latch member has a projecting nger which is adapted to engage theother jaw with the jaws open an appreciable amount, and the pivotalconnection between the lever and the jaw closing and latch member ismovable into or over dead center position to lock the jaws closed.Further, to facilitate the operation of the device, the other jaw isprovided with a roller for engagement with the jaw closing and latchmember. The latch member and lever are swingable as a unit about thepivotal connection to one jaw until the latch member engages theV otherjaw, andV thereafter simultaneously about their Vrespective pivots toclose the jaws and lock the same closed. The device is adapted to beclosed and locked closed by one continuous manipula- 5 tion.

Another object is the provision of an improved construction of theresilient facing strips for the jaws of the clamp, and particularly animprovedV formation of the meeting surfaces of these strips l0 wherebyto increase the life of these surfaces, particularly along the locationat which the hunched strand of hair is gripped.

Another object is to provide a device which will conform better to thehead, and in which the disposition of the device with respect to thehead will be rendered more uniform throughout the length of the device.I d

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, on the lineI-I of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a top plan view with the jaws in open position, and a bunchof hair positioned between the jaws;

Figures 3 and 4 are fragmentary top plan views showing the action oftheV device for closing the jaws and locking the same in closedposition;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view through the jaws of the clamp inclosed. position, taken von the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, showing a modified form of theheat insulating strips secured to the facing strips of the jaws of theclamp; Y

Figure 7 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the modified structureshown in FigureG; and l Figure 8 is a side elevational view of amodified 40 form of device.

The clamp shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, comprises a pair ofelongated arms or jaws 5 and 6 pivotally connected together at one endat l, and provided at the opposite end with a device T45 for closing thejaws and locking the same in closed position. This device constitutes animportant aspect of the invention and will be described fully as thisdescription proceeds.

In the illustrated embodiment, each jaw 5 andl 6 '5o is in the form of asheet metal stamping of chan'- nel section. It is to be understood,however, that the jaws may, within the scope of the present invention,be of ber, wood, or any otherfcomparatively stii material.

At its pivoted end the channel section of the jaw 5 has its top andbottom flanges extended to form projecting tongues 8 which receive,between them, a pair of integral tongues 9 offset to lie closelytogether and extending out laterally from the top and bottom ilanges ofthe jaws 6. The tongues 8 and 9 are pivotally joined by the pivot 1which may be in the form of a rivet or of other suitable or preferredform. The pivoted end of the jaw 6 has a tab II which is widened andturned up and notched at I2 to receive and support rotatably theadjacent end ofthe curler, indicated in its entirety at I3.

The back of the jaw 5 terminates short of the free end of the jaw,leaving the projecting tongues I4. The upper tongue I4 is elongated andfold-v ed back and turned up at I5 to form one side of the journal forthe adjacent end of the curlerV I3. The back of the jaw 6 likewiseterminates short of the free Iend of the jaw, and the adjacent end ofthe top flange of the channel section of` this jaw is widened,.turned upat I6, and

notched at I1 -to receive and support rotatably the adjacent end ofthe`crurler I'3,`the upturned journal part I5 on the jaw 5 constituting theother part of this journal, and when the jaws 5 and 6 areclosed, holdingthe adjacent end of the .curler I3 against lateral displacement `fromthe journal part I6. Y

Thevinner edge of eachjaw 5 and 6 is provided With'a facing strip I 8 ofresilient material, such as rubber or the like. YThese strips I8 aresubstantially coextensive withthe jaws 5 and 6, and are secured in thechannel sections thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, eachfacingVpiece I8 j comprises a strip of relatively live or yielding rubber, orother equivalent material, groovedY at I9 to form a tongue which ispressed or otherwise suitably secured inthe channel section of theadjacent jaw andan integral bottomvfacing piece 2| underlyingY thebottom flange of the channel section of the jaw. The meeting edges ofthe facing'strips I8 project from the openV sides of the channelsections of the jaws to provide Yyieldable facings for gripping abunched strand of .hair as indicated, for example, at 23 in Figure v2.

The meeting edges Vof these strips I8 may be ribbed or grooved-as shown,andY a heat insulating strip 25 Vof wood is preferably glued orotherwise securedto the bottom of the underlying part2| Vof eachstrip I8to assure adequate4 in- -sulation between the human head and the heaterwhich is applied to the ,woundV hair in a manner well-v understood inthe aart. substantially coextensive `with the jaws, and the meetingedges of these strips Vare preferably rounded at V26 to diverge in adirection away from the jaws to reduce the length of hair between thescalp and the curler, and to avoid kinking of the hair. Y

The meeting edges of the facing'strips I8 are preferably rounded outslightly at 28 between the Y ends of the jaws 5 Vand 6 to give thesemeeting edges slightly-convex form along the location .Where thelaunched strand of hair 23 is gripped. It is found' that this materiallyincreases the life of ithefacing strip along the location where the hairis gripped, and avoids the formation of depressions along these portionsofthe strip and of `such extent as to interfere with the proper grippingaction ofthe jaws. A

The particular curler I3 selected for illustra- Y ,tionrisof thek typemore fully disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,862,721, patented June 14,1932. Suffice it to say that this curler comprises the The strips 25 areY metal spool or reel 30 of circular section diminishing in diameterfrom its opposite ends t0- ward the center and a saddle-likeretainer 32pivoted to one end of the spool at 33. A finger-piece 34 is provided atone end of the spool for turning the same, and the opposite end of thespool has teeth 35 which cooperate with a spring pawl 36 to preventunwinding of the spool. The spring pawl 36 comprises a spring stripturned in at its upper end for engagement with the teeth 35, and turnedin and secured at its lower end at' 38 to the top of the jaw 6.

A pad is usually employed in waving the hair as well understood in theart, and for the purpose of receiving and retaining the same I provide aspring retainer 40 secured, for example, by

small screws 42 to the back of the jaw'6. The

retainer 4I) has an upwardly turned integral spring tongue 43, betweenwhich and the back of the retainer the substantially flat edgeof the padis received and retainedwithout requiring a thickened edge along themargin of the pad.

The device for closing the jaws and locking the same in closed positioncomprises a lever V pivoted for free swinging movement at one end at 5Ibetween vthe tongues I 4,'of the jaw 5. The lever 50 comprises a pair ofsuperposed arched pieces between the pivoted ends of which a washer 52is provided. A latch 53 is pivoted at 56, preferably relatively stiffly,between the free ends of the arched pieces constituting the lever 50,4and thislatch 53 preferably has a shoulderY 54 which, by engagementwith `an integral stop 55 turned down from the edge of the top piece ofthe lever 50, limits swinging movement -of the latch in a respectivepivots as will hereinafterappear. *The latch 53 has a relatively shortprojecting finger 51 provided with a rounded cam edge 58` which has adepression 59. The latch 53 also has a lingerpiece 60, turned atsubstantially right angles to the pivoted part of the latch andpreferably elon'- gated to give the operator a considerable me- CIKchanical advantage in closing and locking the'VV device.

Further,'to facilitate ease of operation of the device, the part on thejaw'6 for cooperation with the jaw closing and locking latch 53 is inthe form of a roller 62. This roller 62 is mounted between integraltongues'63 projecting endwise from the top and bottom flanges ofthechannel section of the jaw 6 for free turning movementupon a pin 64 xedin the tongues 63, as by heading one end and riveting over the oppositeend of`V the` pin.

With a bunch ofV hair `between the jaws 5 and 6, as shown at 23 inFigurek 2, the device is closed by applying the finger to thefinger-piece `and pressing the same in the direction indicated` by thearrow in Figure 2. This swings the latch 53 Y swinging movementinacounter-clockwise direction about the pivot 5I and, at the same time,the latch 53 swings in a counter-clockwise direction the same-direction,the lever 50 continuesfits Y Cil about the pivot 56. The resultingaction gives the operator great mechanical advantage and forces the jawsand 6 positively to closed position with great force. gagement of theroller 62 with the latch 53, further facilitates the closing and lockingaction, and as the pin 54 moves past dead center a-ct (Figure 4) thejaws 5 and 6 are locked positively in closed position.

The jaws are released merely by applying the finger to the opposite sideof the linger-piece 60 and pressing the same in the direction of thearrow as shown in Figure 4, until the pin 64 moves back over dead centera-a, whereupon the bunched hair at 23, or the convex intermediate edges28 of the resilient facings I8, or both, act to spread the jaws quicklyto open position.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the latch 53 will take overthe roller 62 with the jaws 5 and 6 open a considerable amount and withthe free end of the lever 5l] sp-aced from. the jaw 6. The closing andlocking actions are simple and convenient, and are obtained quickly andby one continuous manipulation of the finger-piece B0. It is unnecessaryrst to engage the lever 5i) with the jaw 6, and thereafter to manipulatethe latch to lock the jaws closed, and relatively thick as well asrelatively thin bunches of hair may be handled with equal facility.

In the modification of Figures 6 and 7, the heat insulating strips 25are formed of felt or other equivalent material, and instead of beingglued to the facing strips I3', are stitched thereto at the oppositeends, as indicated at 'l2 (Figure '7).

In the modification of Figure 8, the jawsV 13, instead of being flat asshown in Figure 1, are of curved or arched form. This conforms thesejaws better to the head and, as a result, the disposition of the jawswith respect to the head is rendered more uniform from end to end. Inother words, the close proximityY of the intermediate portions of thejaws to the head is maintained over substantially the entire length ofthe jaws. The extremities of the jaws are preferably straightened at 'Mand l5 to lie in a common plane b-b for facilitating proper journalingof the curler. And the straightening of the ends 14, where the closingand locking device is disposed, positions this device so that it willswing substantially in the plane b-b, or parallel thereto, and not downinto engagement with the head, such as might otherwise result if thejaws were arched to their extremities.

I claim:

1. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jawrmembers, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, and a jaw closingand latch member pivoted to said lever and cooperable with the other jawmember, said lever and jaw closing and latch member being swingablesimultaneously about their respective pivots to close the jaw membersand to lock same in closed position.

2. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means .pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a jaw closing andlatch member pivoted to said lever and cooperable with the other jawmember, said lever and jaw closing and latch member being swingablesimultaneously about their respective pivots to close the jaw members,and means for restraining swinging movement of said latch member withrespect to said lever until The roller action, due to the ensaidlatchmember is brought into cooperation Ywith said other jaw member.

3. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, alever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a roller on theother jaw member, and a jaw closing and latch member pivoted to saidlever and cooperable with said roller to close the jaw members.

4. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means .pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a roller on theother jaw member, and a jaw closing and latch member pivoted tosaidlever and cooperable with said roller to close the jaw members, theengagement of said latch member with said roller being swingable into orpast dead center to lock the jaw members in closed position.

5. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a latch memberpivoted to said lever, and a projecting finger on said latch member foroooperation with the other jaw member ahead of the limit of swingingmovement of said lever and operable to close said jaw member and to locksame in closed position.

6. In a hair waving clamp, a .pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a latch memberpivoted to said lever, a roller on the other jaw member, and aprojecting finger on said latch member for cooperation with said rollerahead of the limit of swinging movement of said lever and operable toclose said jaw member and to lock same in closed position.

7. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a latch memberpivoted to said lever and cooperable with the other jaw member to closesaid jaw members and lock same in closed position, and means forrestraining said latch member against free swinging movement about itspivotal connection with said lever whereby said lever and latch memberswing as a unit about the pivotal connection of the lever to one jawmember until the latch member is brought into cooperation with the otherjaw member and thereafter about their respective pivots to close the jawmembers and lock same in closed position.

8. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a roller on theother jaw member, a latch member pivoted to said lever and cooperablewith said roller to close said jaw members and to lock same in closedposition, and means fo-r restraining said latch member against freeswinging movement about its pivotal connection with said lever, wherebysaid lever and latch member swing as a unit about the pivotal connectionof the lever to one jaw member and until the latch member is broughtinto cooperation with said roller and thereafter about their respectivepivots to close the jaw members and lock same in closed position.

9. In a hair waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, a lever pivoted toone of said jaw members at the other end of the clamp, a jaw closing andlatch member pivoted to said lever and cooperable With the other jawmember, means for restraining swinging movement of said latch memberWith respect to said lever until said latch member is brought intocooperation with said other jaw member, and means Vfor limiting swingingmovement of said latch member with respect to said lever in the oppositedirection.

10. In a hair Waving clamp, a pair of jaw members, means pivotallyconnecting said jaw members at one end of the clamp, and resilientfacings for said jaw members, said resilient facings being of generallyconvex form along the location arched portions of Ysaid jaw members, Ymeans i pivoted to the straight end portion of one of said jaW memberson a pivotal axis disposed substantially normal to'said straight endportion and swingable out of the path of curvature of the arched portionof said member into and out of cooperation with the straight end portionof the other jaw member for locking said members closed, and meanspivotally connecting said jaw 16 members.I

BERNARD A. STERLING.

